Brown v. ScriptPro, LLC

Ty Hyderally is very knowledgeable of the many faceted world of employment law. He frequently travels as a keynote speaker and shares his expertise with different audiences in order to inform them of their rights as well as responsibilities pertaining to employment law. Tayeb Hyderally frequently addresses officials on the corporate level so that they can develop proper procedures which will ensure that the workplace continues to be safe for all employees as well as free from discrimination of any sort. He works closely with company personnel keeping them informed of precedent setting employment law cases. Employment law is constantly changing and adapting to make sure that the workplace remains safe for employees and employers. As a NJ lawyer, Tayeb Hyderally makes it his business to keep companies and agencies informed of changes as they occur. In this case concerning overtime wages, the company was not guilty of an infraction since the worker did not follow proper protocol.

Brown v. ScriptPro, LLC

This particular case dealt with two aspects of employment law, the FMLA and the FLSA. Frank Brown worked as a customer service operations analyst at ScriptPro, LLC. Brown brought the case against ScriptPro because he requested medical leave and was terminated two days later. The company cited the dismissal was due to job performance issues that were unresolved. Mr. Brown requested two weeks of paid leave after the birth of their child. An employee who meets certain criteria is entitled to medical leave in these cases under the FMLA. Mr. Brown had taken the two weeks of paid leave after the child was born early in 2008. He requested another day off on November 19, 2008 in order to accompany his wife to her doctor. On November 21, 2008, he was terminated by ScriptPro who stated it was due to “unresolved, previously discussed performance issues.” During 2007 and 2008 Mr. Brown received unfavorable written evaluations for excessive internet usage, lack of respecting personal boundaries at work and being belligerent toward customers. He was also cited for having work related behavior problems and failed to complete projects on time.

Mr. Brown’s FMLA Claims

The plaintiff, Frank Brown brought claims against ScriptPro based on Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Mr. Brown had sent emails and had meetings with his supervisors about taking the time off to help take care of his wife and new baby. Two days following his request, he was terminated. The court did agree that the timing of the termination was suggestive and was possibly in violation of Mr. Brown’s FMLA rights. However, upon investigation, Mr. Brown would have been terminated whether or not he had requested the leave due to his continued performance issues based on the evaluation. The court found that the employer did not interfere with Brown’s rights to leave and that ScriptPro offered a genuine reason for firing him.

Plaintiff’s FLSA Claims

Brown claimed that he had worked overtime that he had not been compensated for. This is a direct violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. However, he was able to show that he had worked overtime but unable to prove the amount of time he had worked. ScriptPro did not have the burden of showing how much overtime Brown worked; they would have had the burden of proof had they failed to consistently keep accurate records. Brown failed to follow the company’s procedures for timekeeping by not entering his name in the timekeeping system. This infraction put the blame on Mr. Brown and ScriptPro was not guilty of failing to pay him overtime. Therefore it was not a violation of the FLSA.